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does this look like a terrorist attack?
Manhole Explosion Shatters Windows Of Buildings Near Union Square Station
Akayed Ullah was charged with counts of weapons possession, supporting an act of terrorism and making a terroristic threat for the Monday morning attack. Ullah, 27, could be arraigned on the charges as early as Tuesday. Five people received minor injuries and Ullah was seriously burned when an explosive device detonated just after 7 a.m. Monday near the Port Authority terminal. The Bangladeshi immigrant will likely be arraigned while he's still recovering at New York City's Bellevue Hospital.
Police guard the gate to the 42nd Street subway entrance after a pipe bomb exploded there Monday morning. The suspect and multiple others were injured in the blast.
Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism and Intelligence John Miller said Ullah was not known to the New York City Police Department or FBI's before the attack. Police say Ullah said he'd chosen the location near the Port Authority terminal because of a holiday poster in a nearby corridor. He was inspired by "[Islamic State]-style Christmas threats," and was angry about bombings in Islamic State-controlled territory in the Middle East. Investigators said they learned that Ullah had read extremist writings and watched propaganda videos online, which is where he learned how to make bombs.
Monday's explosion was captured on video by a surveillance camera, which shows a quick flash followed by thick, white smoke. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called Monday's incident "a terrorist attack," but said there are no other known threats against the city. The device used in the attack -- a low-level explosive worn by Ullah beneath his clothing and secured with Velcro and zip ties -- was a foot-long pipe that contained black powder, a battery, wiring, nails and screws, investigators said. Police said the pipe ignited but did not explode.
NYPD Strategic Response Group Officers stands in Times Square one day after after a bomb exploded in The Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City.
Authorities say Ullah emigrated to the Untied States in 2011 on an F42 family immigrant visa and is a lawful permanent resident. He worked for a time as a cab driver, but his New York license expired in early 2015. Neighbors classified Ullah as an unfriendly person who kept to himself. A neighboring Brooklyn homeowner said his tenants had heard screaming and yelling coming from Ullah's home for a few nights before the attack, but did not call police.
Immigrant charged in NYC 'terrorist' bombing that injured 5
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that the 27-year-old Akayed Ullah entered the U.S. in 2011 on an F43 “fourth preference” family immigration visa. That means Ullah was in the fourth (and most distant) family-relationship eligibility category – the minor child of a sibling of a U.S. citizen over 21 years of age. DHS spokesman Tyler Houlton confirmed further that the person whose family tie had enabled Ullah to settle in the country had become a U.S. citizen after entering the U.S. through the visa lottery program.
President Trump has called for an end to both chain migration and the visa lottery program. “As I have been saying since I first announced my candidacy for president, America must fix its lax immigration system, which allows far too many dangerous, inadequately vetted people to access our country,” Trump said in response to the attack. “Today’s terror suspect entered our country through extended-family chain migration, which is incompatible with national security.” Trump called on Congress to act to end chain migration, and advance his administration’s “other proposals to enhance domestic security, including increasing the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, enhancing the arrest and detention authorities for immigration officers, and ending fraud and abuse in our immigration system.”
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump was “concerned that Congress, particularly Democrats, have failed to take action in some places where we feel we could have prevented this [attack].” “Specifically, the president's policy has called for an end to chain migration,” she said. “And if that had been in place, that would have prevented this individual from coming to the United States.” According to the White House, several terror suspects have been beneficiaries of chain migration or of the visa lottery – a system that enables 50,000 foreigners to apply for permanent residence and green cards each year in a bid to increase diversity among the immigrant population by favoring applicants from low-admission countries.
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